california, arizona, nevada, hawaii, it's a three territories and three countries in the pacific. and i could tell you that i have moved around my region. i've been working with the hiv/aids and other communities throughout our region. do you know how many people have said to me, i got my information through san francisco? (applause) >> that is something to be really proud of. you know, i'll tell you a little bit of a personal story as we -- i move on. imagine september 16th, 1991, your young 29 year old, gay man living in washington, d.c., fulfilling your dream to be a lobbyist. and your physician calls. hi, sam. hi, herb. imagine i had hair, i had very curly hair. [laughter] >> and bill wilson has pictures of it and i know he's here. and he said, herb, i think you ought to come to my office. and i said, why? and he said, because, you know, you had some tests recently. i know, i had the flu, i came in, i did some tests. what's up? you need to come to my office. and these are the pills. and a week-and-a-half ago sunday, september 16th, 2012, as i sat in the synagogue during rosh h